Rink roller skate with tensioning tie bar between its removable trucks



2,696,989 ING TIE UCKS 1954 H. KLEINMAN RINK ROLLER SKATE WITH TENSION BAR BETWEEN ITS RE Filed Jan.

MOVABLE TR 27, 1953 I I II [I I I III III.

INVENTOR BY W My ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 2,596,989 i 'atented Dec. 14, 1954 improvement upon the'skate which forms thesubjeet i'natter of my pending applieation,Serial No. 163,475,

.filed' May 20, 1" 9 50,-now atent No. 2,664,294, issued December 29, 1953.

The common general objector the two inventions is te-iprovi'de 'a' ska'te hfivihg' 21 fo't plate for etttiehfiieiit to the shoe, and having detachable front and rear identi'ca-l trucks, a supply at whienis available at the service counter of the rink, sothat if a truck on one of "the skaters shoes goes bad, he may "g6 to the serve eou't'er and even without removing the shoe, have the flefe" ve truck replaced, avoiding" the general-neeessity or leavin the skate for repair and having to secure another pair of skates in order to resume skating.

The invehtiennis'elesed in my aforementioned application for patent comprises wedge shapedrecessed guides in longitudinally spaced relation on thefoot plate of the skate, mutually convergent, and wedge shaped slides on the tfu'cks interfitting with- -said guides, and having a detachable tie rod of invariable length between theinand inspace'd relation to the bridging portion of the foot plate. Under certain conditions, aster example, when the slides cannot be seated fully the guides due to "intervening dust or dirt, it'is difiici'ilt to conneetjthe tie rod to both trucks, and the tie rod also nofin'ally fails to tension the bridging portion of the foot plate sufficiently to prevent downward deflection of the latter under excessive load.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a'tie member of adjustably variable lengthen that it can draw the slides together in tight relation, whether or not there be foreign matter intervening between the forward ends of the slides and the closed ends of the guide channels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tie member screw-coupled to the slides on an axis parallel to the direction of movement of the slides, whereby the difliculties incident to the necessity of aligning cooperating stud holes is avoided.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tie member that can be shortened beyond the point at which the slides are tightly positioned relative to the guide channels so that the tie member can be normally put under tension and the foot plate likewise kept normally tensioned.

Quite a number of professional skates are now provided with a brake comprising a knob of rubber or the like projecting downward and forwardly, mounted on a support fixed to the toe portion of the foot plate, engageable with the floor by tilting the skate forwardly. Such a brake mounting defeats the use of the slidably removable and replaceable front truck forming part of my earlier invention and the present invention, since it obstructs the approach end of the front guide channel. It is an object of the present invention to mount the knob brake on a forward extension of the front slide and thus avoid this obstruction.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification, and throughout the figures of which the same reference characters designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side view of a skate embodying the prin- 2 ciples of the invention, partly in elevation, partly in section;

, Figure 2 is a horizontal'sectioh taken along the line 2 2 of Figure 1; f

Fig1ire-3zis a cross section taken along the line fi -=3 ofFigilre l; p r

Figure 4' is a perspective view of one of the guide membefs, inverted, both -guide members being identical; Figure 35 isa perspective view 'of the rearv slide, the construction of which characterizes the front slide.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral '1 represents the foot plate whieh' is an integral .inember attaehed to the shoe. Guide members 2 and 3 having the undercut guidevvays 'or tracks '9 for" guiding and retaining the 'slides 10; the latter forming part of the slide members 11- and'1-2 to whichthe respective rear and front trucks are secured. The bight portion 13 of the base plate closes one end of the channel 8' a'ndforms a etopfoi" the slide, the'opposite end of the channel being open for the introduction and removal of the slide. The

guide members are positioned on. the foot plate with the open ends or the channels facing respectively the rear and. front of the skate;

The slide members each comprise a bar 14 of general rectangulai' cross=sectionfwhich is a sliding fit between the flanges 7.of the guide members. On its under side the bar 14 has a threaded bore for the kingbolt '1' 5 (if the truck, and in longitudinally spaced relation thefe't'o a spherical socket 16 for the rounded end 17 of the adjustable pin 18', which is part of the conventional truck unit." At the: end adjacent the kingb'o'l't here each o'fthe bars 14 has a projecting threadedv coupling elethentlS, the axis of whichis parallel tt') the direction of the sliding movement of thesslide inemb'er. In the interest'of making the diameterof the coupling element 18 as-large as p'bssibleg'for strength, it has-been necessary to flatten the top of said coupling element, as shown at 19 in Figure 3, in order to permit the bar 14 to clear the side member.

The bar 14 carries, integral therewith, the slide 10 which fits the wider part of the channel 8, and has the end which is adjacent the coupling element 18, that is, the inwardly directed end, complementary in shape to the closed end of the channel so as to fit thereagainst.

When the trucks are in place the juxtaposed position of the bars 14 is as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The tie member, as shown, for holding the trucks in tight relation to the skate, comprises a post 20 having ringnuts 21 at its ends, retained by heads 22 formed at the. ends of said post encompassed by inturned flanges 23 on the ringnuts. The effective length of the tie member is adjustably variable, depending upon the extent to iviich the nuts are screwed upon the coupling elements In removing a defective truck and applying a replacement it is necessary merely to back off the ringnut from the coupling element of the truck to be removed and'to slide the truck unit, including the bar 14 and slide 10, toward the adjacent end of the skate. The replacement truck unit is then inserted until its coupling element 18 is in proximity to the end of the post, whereupon the ringnut is screwed upon it until tight, and the job is done. It is immaterial whether the parts are clean or whether any accumulation of dust, etc., intervenes between the complementary face of the ends of the slide and the closed ends of the guide channels. The fact that the common axis of the post 20 and coupling element 18 is parallel to the direction of movement of the slide obviates the difliculty of aligning holes for the securing means which beset my earlier construction under conditions in which the abutting ends of the slide and guide channel are not perfectly clean. The fact that the ringnuts 21 are permanently retained upon the post make it impossible to lose one of the nuts, which is another advantage over my earlier construction in which it was possible for one of the studs to work loose and drop off, resulting in the detachment of the truck with the possibility of a disastrous spill.

For tensioning the foot plate to resist downward flexing of the intermediate unsupported portion of the foot plate, it is necessary merely to tighten one or both of the ringnuts 21 a little beyond the degree of tightness necessary to immobilize the slides 10. This places the upper face of the foot plate under tension and the lower face under compression, so that it is impossible for the foot plate to bend downward under impactive stresses.

While the post 20 is shown as a solid body, a tubular post with flared ends would be its full equivalent.

Figure 1 illustrates a skate in which the front slide member 12 has an integral extension 23' which terminates substantially at the toe end of the foot plate.

This serves as a mount for the conventional knob brake 24, which consists of a body 25 of rubber or the like, having an axial aperture through which a bolt 26 passes, having a head countersunk below the surface of the rubber body. The latter rests against a washer 27, which is tightened against the body by a nut 28. The forward end 29 of the extension 23 is preferably inclined in a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the brake is inclined, and the bolt 26 screws into a threaded bore in said forward end normal to the planeof inclination of the later. The brake can readily be removed if its use is not desired. By mounting it on the slide it does not obstruct the removal of the forward truck, which would be the case if it were mounted in conventional manner directly upon the toe plate.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts, as shown and described, are by way of illustration and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Skate including a foot plate and trucks demountably secured thereto at front and rear, each truck including a slide member, and complementary guide members on said foot plate with which said slide members respectively cooperate, said guide members having channels open toward the ends of said foot plate giving access to said slide members and having closed inner ends forming stops for said slide members, the latter at their adjacent ends having aligned threaded coupling elements axially parallel to the direction of movement of said slide members, and a tensioning member having complementary threaded coupling means at its ends engageable with said coupling elements for mutually drawing said slide members into tight relation to said stops.

2. Skate as claimed in claim 1, said tensioning member comprising a rod, nuts rotatable on said rod having oppositely facing threaded sockets engageable with said coupling elements, said rod having flared ends within said nuts against which the latter thrust in the screwing operation, for tensioning said tension member and mutually drawing said slide members into tight relation to said stops.

3. Skate including a foot plate and trucks demountably secured thereto at front and rear, each truck including a slide member, and complementary guide members longitudinally spaced on said foot plate with which said slide members respectively cooperate, said guide members having channels open toward the ends of said foot plate giving access to said 'slide members and having closed inner ends forming stops for said slide members, the latter at their adjacent ends in a plane below said channels having aligned threaded coupling elements axially parallel to the direction of movement of said slide members, and a tensioning member bridging the space between said slide and guide members having complementary threaded coupling means at its ends screwable upon said coupling elements for mutually drawing said slide members in tight relation to said stops and tensioning said foot plate between said guide members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 214,563 Harwood Apr. 22, 1879 299,682 Ryerson June 3, 1884 337,151 Harris, Jr. Mar. 2, 1886 894,501 Hohenadel July 28, 1908 1,389,787 Stanley Sept. 6, 1921 2,164,805 Ecton July 4, 1939 2,483,615 Benson Oct. 4, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,095 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1909 22,044 Great Britain June 25, 1908 

